LOCAL athlete, Richard Trezise who hails from Durban North, has won an impressive 25 national medals during his 33 years of competing in Judo competitions. The highlight of his career was when he won the 1999 British Open – a total of five international medals to his credit.Thereafter he started coaching Judo to school children in the Durban, Durban North and Umhlanga areas and currently instructs at six private schools.
His ‘kids’ as he calls them, seldom come back from regional or national championships without medals around their necks and, although the parents praise Richard for his dedication and passion, Richard always insists that the results are due to the hard work and commitment of his pupils. What makes Richard’s achievements even more impressive is the fact that was born almost completely deaf. His mother, Marge, refused to accept the doctors’ diagnoses that her son was unable to be educated and spent his formative years doing rigorous speech training with him. Richard attended the Fulton School for the Deaf and then the Open Air School in Glenwood, where he matriculated from at the age of 19.
Richard went on to study jewellery design and then spent eight years in Johannesburg as a goldsmith. On moving back to Durban, he opened his own jewellery store on the Berea. He was responsible for every aspect of the business, except answering the phone. ‘’I would conduct face-to-face consultations with the clients, do the design drawings for their approval and then create the finished product while my mom took on the responsibility of answering and making phone calls,’’ explains Richard. ‘’I loved my business but after eight years of working 15 to 18 hours a day, seven days a week, I realised that it was not the quality of life I wanted and, in turn, decided to become a full-time Judo coach,’’ continues Richard who also coaches Shotokan Karate (SA JKA Karate).Richard began Judo lessons at the age of eight, primarily to gain confidence. ‘’In the beginning I found it very frustrating not being able to hear the coach’s instructions but I learn’t to watch carefully and soon developed a life-long passion for this ancient martial art.’’When coaching, his pupils need to face him squarely when they want to talk to him.
“All my kids know that I have to see their lips to understand what they are saying,’’ says Richard.Richard believes that if more people understand and use sign language, people who are deaf and hard of hearing won’t feel so isolated and lonely.
Friday, 21 March is Human Rights’ Day and according to Justice Zak Yacoob, the president of the KZN Blind and Deaf Society, it is a human right for everyone to be able to communicate and to be communicated with. Learn South African Sign Language (SASL) and change the life of someone with a hearing disability by speaking to them in their own language. For more information on Sign Language courses, contact Sasha at the KZN Blind and Deaf Society on 031 3094991.
